Horizon Cutting-room Links: Wednesday, 26 February 2025

"The Next Phase of Trump’s Large-Scale Work Force Cuts Is Underway," New York Times

"So far, the early 'reduction in force' round includes cutting 144 people at the Department of Housing and Urban Development in offices across the country. The General Services Administration has plans to cut 30 to 40 people, with notifications going out to individuals by the end of the week. And on Sunday, the U.S. Agency for International Development notified its staff that some 2,000 employees based in the United States would be cut."

"Five labor unions representing federal workers sued the Trump administration this month over its plans to use that path to fire large swaths of the federal work force. The unions say the administration’s use of the practice violates protocol set by Congress. A federal judge in the District of Columbia denied the unions’ request for a temporary pause in the firings and directed the unions to make their argument to the Federal Labor Relations Authority."

"GSA’s real estate shop loses 725 employees to ‘deferred resignation’ offer," FedNewsNetwork

"According to sources familiar with the situation at GSA, approximately 725 Public Buildings Service employees took the Office of Personnel Management’s “deferred resignation” offer — a nearly 13% reduction of its headcount. ... PBS currently has a headcount of about 5,600 employees. The workforce cuts do not include employees in their probationary period that GSA recently fired, or an upcoming reduction in force that will lead to more terminations."

"Pentagon’s No. 2 Civilian Nominee Talks NGAD, Hypersonics," Air & Space Magazine

"Stephen Feinberg, nominated to be Deputy Secretary of Defense, also acknowledged the Air Force’s diminishing capabilities and promised lawmakers he would take a close look at next steps for the service, to include a more robust pursuit of hypersonic weapons and divestment of older aircraft systems."

Feinberg said, "Some believe that we can go straight to full autonomous systems, we don’t need a next generation fighter, and we could use the F-35, updated,” while "others feel we really need the next-generation fighter, despite its expense and difficulty,”

"Hyatt Launches New Mid-Market Hotel Brand Hyatt Select," Skift

"The brand targets transient (not extended stay or convention) travelers in smaller towns and cities where the hotel giant has limited or no presence. Hyatt Select will feature properties with 70 to 200 rooms and a streamlined staffing model designed to reduce labor costs."

"Hyatt's newest brands have two goals. One is to offer owners of Hyatt Place hotels an 'upscale' brand, the opportunity to relatively inexpensively convert their properties to 'midscale' brands that don't require as many amenities or operational perks. Otherwise, Hyatt Place owners who don't want to pay to renovate properties fully might seek to rebrand with midscale brands from other hotel groups."